Thursday, 28 May 2009

Two news stories about the harm done to children caught my attention today.

A 5-year-old Russian girl found in a filthy apartment imitating the cats and dogs she was shut up with has been placed in state custody as authorities consider neglect charges against her father and other relatives. Officials said the girl barks like a dog, laps food directly off the plate and seems to have been "raised" by the animals.

Police in the Transbaikal region of Siberia said Wednesday that the girl was kept shut up with the animals in the regional capital, Chita. She lived in the apartment with relatives, including her father and grandparents. ...

The ITAR-Tass news agency cited the girl's mother as saying the child's father had taken her away without her permission when she was 2 1/2 years old. But the father claimed his mother-in-law had asked him to take the child because the mother was not taking proper care of her, the news agency quoted regional police spokesman Yegor Markov as saying.

New Mexico authorities say a 7-year-old girl drove her father's Jeep in an attempt to get help after he was ejected in a rollover crash east of Clovis. Elizabeth Kazza got about three miles from the crash site when a motorist spotted her trying to drive the wrecked Jeep and stopped to help, the Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday. ...

Authorities say the girl's father, Guillermo Montes, 40, was speeding and lost control ... Elizabeth and her 3-year-old brother were unrestrained in the Jeep at the time of the crash, Glascock said. They told investigators Montes had driven to Clovis to buy beer and was drinking while heading back to his home in Bovina.